Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Can Jeff Flake really be this naive?

Outgoing senator Jeff Flake of Arizona has expressed bewilderment: that his Republican colleagues are not moving with more dispatch to protect Bob Mueller's investigation.

“How in the world my colleagues don’t see this as a priority now I just don’t understand,” Flake said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

I find it hard to believe that Jeff Flake could really be that naive, but I have an equally hard time coming up with any more plausible explanation for that statement. Let me esplain it to you, senator: the Republican party in in thrall to Donald Trump. He has enough power to pose a credible threat to any Republican who opposes him, and no compunctions about using that power to advance his agenda even if it means trampling over every political and social norm this country has ever prided itself on having, even if it means destroying American democracy itself. At the top of Trump's agenda is protecting himself and his family from the prying eyes of law enforcement because that would bring down the house of cards. So the Mueller investigation must be stopped by any means necessary. Any Republican who actively stands in the way of that stands a very good chance of having their career destroyed. Hence, standing up to Trump requires courage. It requires patriotism. It requires someone who puts their country above their party and above their career. People with such qualities are extinct in the Republican party. And so, apparently, are people who understand reality, because Jeff Flake manifestly does not.